Princess Peach: A Wild New World
by TheFishPerson
Summary: Princess Peach is tired of life within the castle walls. Everyone seems to guard it from her as if it should remain some dark secret. Peach wants to escape into the outside world and go through the motions of living a normal life - a wish Camilla willingly grants for her. But surely there is a price to all this?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One – Life Behind Bars

Peach looked out over the vaguely familiar hills that melted away into the burning sunset. It ate away at them like fire licking up small scraps of paper that had been lined up across a canvas. Below, Moo Moo's slowly headed back into their pens whilst their owners set about making sure all the animals were back in for the night. Several chickens kept jumping out of their homes, but experience had told Peach that that was to be expected. Almost at her feet was the rest of the castle – branching out in all different directions. Slowly, lights started to glow out of the windows. Presumably they were candles but Peach never really took the time to notice. Truth be told, in recent months Peach had been feeling slightly cut off from the world. It had been last week when she was last captured by Bowser, and in that time she had to spend with herself inside a cage suspended over boiling magma, it struck Peach how tedious her life had become. Every month some dark villain would try and use her in their evil plan and then Mario, Luigi or perhaps Mario and Luigi would rush to her aid. Sure there had been a few wild cards out there (a vision of Count Bleck flashed before her eyes momentarily) but she no longer got surprised by it all. In recent months, her cries of fear and worry had been replaced by hollow moans. Occasionally she would throw in a, "get it over with already!" but she quickly learnt that not a lot of villains found that amusing. Looking over her kingdom now, it dawned on Peach how little she actually knew about the Mushroom Kingdom. She relied on Toadsworth to inform her on happenings in the outside world. Part of her wanted to go and explore the many nooks and crevice's her kingdom had to offer.

"Tell me, Toadsworth, what is it like beyond the castle walls?" asked Peach over dinner. A long, oak table stretched down the length of the main hall. It was flanked by lots of small toads carrying all sorts of containers. Perched on the opposite end of the table was Toadsworth. He never ate in her presence but always sat with her to talk about whatever she so desired. Unlike Peach, he travelled across the kingdom as a representative of the royal family. Now, though, he wasn't quite sure what to tell her. There were strict rules about how much Peach could be exposed to – especially since she was prone to getting herself into trouble.

"Well, it's certainly green…" began Toadsworth cautiously, choosing his words precisely, "and there are a lot of dainty little towns!"

"No, Toadsworth, what is it really like?" asked Peach again stubbornly. It was clear that we was just trying to cover up for something. When you knew someone for quite as long as she had known Toadsworth, it was blatant when they were acting strangely.

"It's just like I said. And I'm sure when you come of age you will see all of it and more!" said Toadsworth, sliding his spectacles back up his nose. He was sweating like crazy and he really wanted to just leave before he said something he shouldn't say. "Excuse me, there's something I need to deal with." He hobbled away from the table in a hurry and slammed the door on his way out. It was unusual to see Toadsworth acting in such a manner. It made Peach uneasy: did the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom hold some deadly secret? No matter how hard she focused on other things it kept finding its way back into her mind throughout the rest of the day. Even wrapped up in bed that night it nagged her. The bed chamber smelled of rosewater and everything was a shocking pink. On the walls hung countless pictures of her various escapades along with the Mario brothers. Every time she felt lonely Peach would simply glance at one of these mementos and cast herself back to a happier moment. Even now she found herself looking towards them for inspiration less often as if they were a symbol of a past life that lingered in the back of her mind. She looked at them now and wondered what the Mario brothers were up to at that moment. No matter how dull everyone else's lives got, their lives were exciting enough to make up for the otherwise bland goings on around the Mushroom Kingdom. She wondered if Mario was still thinking about her as well.

"Time for bed, Princess. See you in the morning," recited one of the toads assigned to the highest floor of the castle. He headed over to the last remaining candle to blow it out.

"Toad?" asked the princess before he had a chance to extinguish the light.

"Yes, Princess?" replied the toad solemnly.

"What is it like outside the walls?" she asked.

"I wouldn't really know about that, Princess. I haven't been home in years now. There's not much of it left anymore though – it was destroyed by Bowser on a quest to locate Toadsworth. As if he'd bother to hang around our little town…"

"Yes, but what was the town like?" asked Peach once more, attack slowly working its way into her voice.

"You've been to a normal Mushroom town before, Princess, and believe you me this one wasn't much different. Now, I must insist you get some sleep," announced the toad, and without further ado he blew out the last candle and left the room. Peach wasn't satisfied.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – A Deal With The Devil

When Peach awoke the next morning her curtains had already been opened and a warm, summer breeze circulated around the room. A fresh bunch of flowers sat in the vase on her makeup table. They were replaced every morning without fail even if it was a particularly pleasant bunch. On the stool by her bed a shimmering, bubble gum pink dress was strewn out. For a second she wondered why it was there, and then she remembered that today was Castle Carnival. During the Carnival, various acts from around the kingdom travelled to the castle in order to perform their talents in front of the princess. It always promised to be a spectacular event; even if all the same acts from last year returned again. Peach hauled herself out from her bed and tried on her new dress. As she pulled it up, she looked out over the landscape once more. The Moo Moo's ran amok through the pastures chomping through anything in their paths; the chickens jumped off small rocks and the famer lay down in the middle of a field contemplating the beautiful morning sky. There was not a cloud in sight. Peach wondered whether, from the top of the mountains in the distance, she would be able to scoop down her own portion of cloud. She licked her lips as she imagined what it might taste like. She had been taught that the clouds were nothing more than water, but that didn't stop her childhood theory that they were made of candyfloss to dominate her mind. Would the snow be much the same, or would it taste somewhat different? Would the two complement each other? Peach envied the farmer for he may have all the answers – answers from his own experience rather than an answer that somebody else had told him was true. Peach sighed and slammed the window. It was distracting her anyway. She didn't need to do her makeup by herself on a day like today: there was always an extensive line-up of make-up artists at her disposal; all of which were better at applying make-up than she was. Or at least that was what she liked to think. Downstairs, the castle was already plagued with brightly coloured balloons and ribbons. They made Peach's heart rise a bit what with their warm hues and fun atmosphere.

"A lot of people must think it's like this all the time," thought Peach, dodging various water features that were being ferried about the place. As usual, Toadsworth was waiting for her at the table along with a plate of sickly sweet breakfast items. She helped herself to a waffle with some syrup and assumed her usual position on the other end of the table. She wanted to ask Toadsworth why he was acting so strangely the previous night but she fought the very notion. Over the years they had been through so much together that they knew that when there was a fault in their relationship it was easier to forgive and forget rather than get in an argument over it.

"I trust you slept well, Princess," enquired Toadsworth in his normal voice.

"Oh, yes, Toadsworth. It was most… pleasant," replied Peach confidently without looking up from her plate. An awkward tension hung until Peach excused herself from the table completely. A lot needed doing before the festivities.

Rather abnormally, nobody had made Peach's bed whilst she was downstairs having breakfast. Peach didn't let it nag her too much: only when such feeble matters were tampered with did she notice they were even there in the first place. She sat at her make-up table and waited for her make-up artist to come and beautify her. She didn't have to wait long: a purple toad stumbled into her room lugging a large make-up bag behind it. The toad had masses of blusher and ghastly eye shadow. Secretly throughout the process, Peach had her fingers crossed that she wouldn't end up looking a similar way. When it was finished, however, Peach was overwhelmed by how different she looked. Her skin was near flawless, her eyes were blue like the mid-afternoon sky and her hair was perfectly blonde. Peach nearly fainted the other week when she had discovered a rogue wisp of grey hair amongst her sea of blonde locks. It was a sign of the times. No matter how much make-up they smacked onto her, Peach would still grow old just like everyone else. Twenty eight years of continuous kidnapping didn't help her retain her natural beauty either.

"There you go, my love! Young toads up and down the kingdom must be so jealous of you right now!" said the toad as she packed her bag up. In Peach's mind, that couldn't have been further from the truth.

Having endured the beauty session, Peach went back down into the grand hall to participate in the final preparations for the Castle Carnival. There wasn't an awful lot for her to do other than to sit upon her podium and clap each act no matter how dire their performance turned out to be. Most of the time she just daydreamed about eating clouds or lying in an open field watching the world go by. It was a small pleasure that she doubted she would ever get to experience properly. Just before the guests were to be allowed in, Toadsworth took Peach's hand and looked her straight in the eye.

"If there's anything you need to ask me, get it off your chest now," he said seriously.

"Why aren't I allowed out?" asked Peach, although her voice was drowned out by the arrival of the performers and spectators. It was quite a sight to behold: hundreds of tiny, multi-coloured heads bobbing up and down and chattering excitedly amongst themselves. As they passed the princess on her pedestal they all cheered or waved excitedly – forcing a smile onto Peach's downtrodden face. After many years of experience, Peach learnt to grin and wave in front of a crowd no matter how horrible the situation.

"Ladies and Gentletoads, the fourteenth annual Castle Carnival is about to commence. Will everyone please find their seats." The next hour and a half passed like a blur of juggling toads, singing choirs of Yoshi's and sketches filled with unimaginative jokes. Just as an instinctive reaction, Peach clapped at the end of each performance whilst still staring into space. Her limbs began to ache just as the interval began. It was an opportunity for the princess to greet all the attendees of the show and congratulate her favourites (not that she was paying attention to any of them.) She grabbed a drink from the bar and tried to stay relatively low-key. That failed almost instantly.

"Oh princess! Princess! Please may I have a photo?" asked a surprisingly chipper toad who she vaguely remembered was doing stunts on a trapeze.

"Well of course!" she said in her sweetest voice. She stooped down to the toad's height and put on her cheesiest smile she could think of. It gave her a sense of pride when she met people that were over the moon to be in her presence: a lot of the time it was quite refreshing from the general repetitiveness of life around the castle. She posed for several more photos before she slipped off into the toilets. She needed a breather from all the action even if it were for just a second. These toilets were significantly grottier than those she was used to in the royal suite: grime slotted in to any crevice in the wall; the taps shot out water so sharply it was hard to control and the toilets weren't lined with anything. Peach daren't even try to use one; instead she just checked her hair out in the mirror. She was tired. Could she really survive much more of this? Distantly, she heard Toadsworth announce the commencement of the second halve of the Carnival. Peach tried the door. It was locked tight.

"Strange," she thought to herself, "I don't remember locking the door."

"You wouldn't, Peach, because I did." Peach turned on her heel to find herself face to face with Camilla. She was significantly smaller than their previous encounters (she was now only a few inches taller than Peach) yet she still wore the plain dark black blouse she never grew old of. Her hastily applied green lipstick resembled scales on lizard's backs.

"How did you get past those guards?" asked Peach, agog.

"Have no fear, princess. I am here to help you."

"I do not require your help," snapped Peach, readying the fire flower she kept tucked in the hidden pocket in her dress in case of emergency.

"Then you do not dream of what life would be like outside the castle?" asked Camilla, sporting a sinister grin.

"Tell me more," said Peach almost like a reflex.

"I know you wish to experience a normal life, a wish that is easily granted when in the hands of Camilla."

"What will it cost?" Peach asked excitedly. Her pulse raised to an unbelievably high rate and her cheeks began to bloom a rosy red that stood out even through the thick layer of blusher the make-up artist had applied.

"Not a thing. It is the least I can do for the princess of this land."

"Do it," said Peach without a moment's hesitation. Immediately she felt stupid for doing so.

"Your wish is my command, my princess. Now go and enjoy your last day as princess of the Mushroom Kingdom." The door swung open by magic and Peach fled.

In between acts Peach managed to slip back onto her throne without anyone besides Toadsworth taking notice. He just gave her an awkward glance which she countered with a look of reassurance.

"I'll talk to you later," she mouthed as a toad drove a bicycle through a ring of fire. However after the Carnival, talking to Toadsworth was the last thing on her mind. As soon as everyone started to file out, she took the fastest route to her bed chamber. She fell right on to her still unmade bed and fell asleep with dreams of living a normal life at last.


	3. Interlude One

Interlude

The castle was not easy to penetrate – even for an ally of the King. Even then, it was surprising that people who had been on his side for so long still had to go through the laborious process. Over the years several different tactics had been used by the Mario brothers to try and get over the border: flying as a tanouki; being shot out of a canon… the ways got increasingly more random but it always prepared the fortress for the following attack. Or so they'd like to think. In actual fact, the Mario brothers never kept the same strategy for too long. They always had a new trick up their sleeves'. Even when approaching via broomstick floating stations would rise up to meet you mid-flight.

Two Kamek's approached the fortress. The platform rose to meet them – a goomba currently monitoring the flow of people in and out of Bowser's grounds.

"Name?" asked the goomba routinely even though it was obvious.

"Kamek," they said in unison. The goomba looked from to the other very suspiciously. On his notepad he had noted thirty two Kamek's being out and about, yet Kamek thrity three appeared to be asking for permission to enter.

"I'm sorry, but I can't really let you in," moaned the goomba, burying his face in his notebook.

"Tough," said one of the Kamek's firmly, waving its wand in a majestic movement. The goomba fell of the edge of the platform – followed by a splat several seconds afterwards. The second Kamek waved its wand and a new goomba appeared in the place of the previous one. This one was mute and, also unlike its predecessor, let them go through without even doing any counting. A special alcove was positioned on the outer wall which served as a landing for any visitors arriving by air. Immediately the second Kamek picked up its broom and headed towards its usual haunt within the castle walls. The first Kamek paused for a second and let the air embrace it. Although it was at the expense of the life of a goomba, Mario was now safely inside Bowser's keep.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three – Forreal

Peach lay in a field. The morning air whispered into her ear for her to stand up; the welcoming grass lulled her into staying and soaking in the ambience. Something she hadn't appreciated for years. The Moo Moo's were kept in the next field along and the farmer lived in the cottage right next to it. Although it wasn't visible from up in her bed chamber, the field was surrounded by a metal fence with some manner of curse around it. Peach discovered that the hard way when she tried to clamber over and meet a Moo Moo in the flesh. Her rump still ached several minutes on. The mountains loomed large behind her – no longer feeble scraps of paper but vast giants that blocked out the light instead of being eaten up by it. A collection of clouds swirled around its summit. Peach promised herself that in this day she would eat a cloud and finally taste snow. Unlike the other days, the farmer stayed indoors the entire time instead of playing with his cattle and feeding them. As long as Peach could remember he had been there.

She picked herself up from the ground, brushed down her garments and scanned the area for somewhere where she could get some breakfast. Unlike the previous day, here elegant pink robes were now patchy brown rags that vaguely resembled a dress. They itched horrifically. Not sighting a town anywhere in walking distance, Peach decided to try her luck with the farmer. As she got closer, it became increasingly obvious that what the whole farm needed was some desperate TLC. The farmhouse had windows hanging on the hinges and missing bricks in all crevices, the barn had no roof and the animals were looking malnourished. Peach knocked the rusty door knocker (which subsequently fell off and landed on the cobbled path with a clunk) but there was no reply. There were lights on inside the house though. Touring the fields made no difference: the farmer seemed to have completely disappeared from his estate.

Shrugging it off fairly quickly, Peach went into the large barn to forage for food. The chickens who usually roamed free were confined in cages; cages so small that the chickens couldn't move around. It was locked with a padlock else Peach would have liberated them on the spot. A crate filled with eggs was left open next to their enclosure. Leaving it open suggested that they were just asking for people to come along and take a few as they pleased. As soon as she laid hands on the crate, however, a low voice chilled her to the bone. It was deep and masculine yet was whining like a baby without a dummy. Although she had little experience with people in the real world, Peach thought that she couldn't have scared him that much.

"I'm so sorry! Please don't harm me!" shouted the man. Peach turned around to see a small toad with a bushy black moustache and muscles bulging out of his arms.

"Why would I harm you?" asked the princess soothingly. The toad was physically shaking and seemed hardly able to keep himself in one place long enough to deliver an answer. Peach placed the eggs back into the box and took a step away to show that she meant no harm – not that that put the toad at ease anymore.

"I thought my pasture was up to regulation but really, if it needs to be smaller, I will quite happily change it. Obviously you'd have to use another one of those charms of yours to secure the cattle once more but other than that I'm sure we can arrange for-"

"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Peach before the man fainted, "I'm just here because I'm homeless and hungry." In that moment, Peach thought back to Toadsworth and the Mushroom Palace. It pained her to think what state her old friend could have been in upon finding an empty bed. She felt guilty that she had told Toadsworth she needed to talk to him and then left him hanging for what could be eternity. Would he come looking for her? Or would the Mario brothers charge up to Bowser's fortress without a moment's hesitation or consideration? A tear slowly leaked from her eye which in turn made the toad calm down a bit.

"Oh… I'm sorry… I thought you were part of Bowser's patrol," the toad said guilty, dragging his foot through the mood slowly to try and hold his attention.

"Me? Part of Bowser's lot? But I'm-"she paused for a moment. She wasn't Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom for today (or however long this experience lasted) but just a normal woman trying to survive out in her local town. "-lost."

"Oh, well welcome to Forreal. I'm the farmer here at Forreal Farm." The muscular toad beamed, puffing his chest out once more to try and gain some social stance again. "It's not exactly a happy place to be nowadays but I'm sure you'll get on just fine." The farmer offered breakfast with fresh eggs and bacon straight from the farm. Even when he offered it to her, the farmer (who she now knew was called Alphonse) faltered about sharing anything with her. It was a delicious meal (better than anything at the castle) yet it felt somehow half-hearted from a farmer who was acting like he was breaking the law. After, Peach helped arrange the flowers in a vase on the kitchen table whilst Alphonse washed up. The house was oddly circular with a vast wooden table in the middle and small little utilities around the edge. Even the kitchen and sofas were bent in order to fit in with the geometry of the room. From the outside it was clear that the upper floor was similar in structure.

"So what's Bowser trying to do now?" asked Peach. There was a pause.

"You'd better go," said Alphonse, not tearing his eyes away from the window.

"I'm sorry… what?" said Peach angrily.

"The name's taboo. Right now a Kamek is probably hurtling towards us," said Alphonse bitterly, failing to make eye contact. "You have a few minutes to run before they turn you into a Moo Moo." Something clicked in Peach's brain. It was worth escaping as quickly as possible if the Moo Moos outside were anything to go by. She grabbed her cardigan and yanked the door open.

"Thank you for everything Alphonse!" she cried out. "But please tell me – I didn't just eat…"

"No, all of that meat is given straight back to Bowser. You're safe in that respect. Now go."

And Peach ran. Then she remembered her satchel. She pulled a star out of it and granted herself the ability to be able to run much quicker. She hurtled towards the mountains in hope of finding salvation.

"I do not know what you're talking about. The Grand Master's name was mentioned upon my property. Now if you excuse me I need to-"

"You can't get out of it that easily, Mr Alphonse," sneered Camilla, her staff lodged right under the toad's voice box. "I trust you know what happens to traitors in our society." Alphonse gulped, his eyes flashing out the window. One of the Moo Moos was right up next to the fence emotionless yet willing him to get out to the other side alive. What that Moo Moo witnessed remains unspeakable, but it wasn't anything new to it. The truth of the matter was that only the week before had similar things happen to the Moo Moo – things that nobody should ever have to watch or experience. Something that scared you for life.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four – Mountain Trek

Looking back from the safety of the hills, Peach saw Bowser's minions rise up from the farm empty handed. She hoped that Alphonse had escaped quickly enough to evade them; but Peach knew that Alphonse's fate wasn't nearly as cheerful. Already it was clear that Forreal was a place where hope played second fiddle to woe and misery. It was unclear whether she was still within the boundaries of her own kingdom or whether she was in some new unexplored realm. As far as she was aware, the Mushroom Kingdom extended right up to the horizon in every direction and there was nothing beyond those horizons but endless stretches of water. Toadsworth had once told her a story about a man who fell asleep on the beach on one side of the kingdom and woke the next morning to find himself on the other. It had always seemed a stupid concept, but Toadsworth assured her it was better than most theories before it.

"When I was a young toad, we were convinced the world was flat," Toadsworth had chortled to a young Princess Peach as he went to blow out the last candle before bed, "but now we know that that just isn't so!" And to Peach that was the only explanation she needed to hear in order to be convinced that the world was round and the Mushroom Kingdom covered all land. It was only when she asked Toadsworth where Bowser came from did she start to pick holes from the already ridiculous knowledge.

"He is not of this world, Princess," Toadsworth had told her after being given a moment to think about his answer, "No evil would thrive in such a kingdom as ours." Had Peach been younger she would have bought into that story quite eagerly, however years on and she refused to be silenced by such nonsense. Months of trawling through the royal archives proved fruitless thus Peach decided to just leave it be and focus on being kidnapped time and time again.

Having been daydreaming for several hours and night slowly creeping up on Forreal, Peach had to find somewhere to spend the night. Her dress was now torn at the bottom and hunger pains were haunting her stomach. Clambering through the rocky terrain, her mind didn't stray from moaning about how much it hurt and how she would probably die out in the open with nobody there to help her. The sky got darker and darker and the path she was talking became less and less evident amongst the looming shadows that stood around her. There was, however, one advantage to the darkness. A town in the distance had all its candles lit and a bonfire in its centre – a town standing out like a rose amongst the thorns. Her feet, feeling numb already from the seemingly never ending track, started to propel her forward quicker and quicker. Before she knew it, Peach was bounding over every obstacle towards the small glimmer of hope that flickered in the distance. No matter how close she thought she was getting the town was always pushing itself back. Hours without water were starting to play with her mind. Or so she told herself every time she was on the edge of defeat.

"That's impossible, Peach. You know it's impossible," she muttered under her breath. Perhaps all towns slowly moved. Perhaps it was yet another thing Toadsworth had missed out during his lessons. She propped herself up on a rock to catch her breath and tried to judge how far it would be before the town grew any bigger. Her legs began to give way – too tired from the journey to go on. When she had told Camilla she wanted to live a normal life, this wasn't exactly what she had bargained on getting. Suddenly the luxury of the castle seemed like a dream. Slowly she slumped down onto the ground. With the last of her strength she kept her eyes firmly open. There was nobody around to pick her up; no toads waiting to aid her in even the most simple of tasks and no Toadsworth to give her his otherworldly advice.

"What a pickle; what a to do! Whatever are we going to do with you?" laughed Toadsworth, standing over Peach's body. "Let's hope someone finds you soon." He said this with a wry smile for he knew exactly what would happen next. He looked out to the town nestled amongst the mountains and willed them to help his Princess. "It's not supposed to end like this. Not yet."

"Lookie 'ere!" said a male voice piercing into Peach's ears. It dragged her out of her sleep and into the world of the living – into the face of a brutish looking toad. A scar ran down his cheek and his eyes were a milky blue. "Quite a catch, don't c'ha think?" he cackled to himself – or perhaps to the stuffed toy that sat upon his rucksack. It didn't take long for Peach to realise that this toy was a like-for-like representation of the toad that was stooping over her. She tried to lie motionless and play dead. "Playin' dead now, lass?" asked the toad provocatively. He poked her with his climbing stick. Her efforts to ignore it were quickly overwhelmed by the sharp end of the toads stick. It made her squirm about like a fish on dry land. She let out a small, shrill scream which caused the toad to give a toothy, malevolent grin which exposed his rotting teeth.

"Yuck," said Peach to herself quietly.

"I know, they're disgusting aren't they lass," he cackled, taking out the false pair. He threw them in her face and let the spit coat her face.

"Most ungentlemanly," moaned Peach, wiping her dress down from any dirt (and possibly saliva) that stained the scraggy garments. The mountains were bright in the morning because the sun rose to light up the crevice. She could only assume that the rest of the mountain was similar.

"So, tell me lassie. How did a girl like you end up in a place like this?" asked the toad, offering one rough hand to help pull her up from the ground. It was a muddy hand that made the ground look like the peak of cleanliness; thus Peach declined and picked herself up on her own. Had she been Princess Peach she would have been forced to except due to the kind-hearted reputation she had gained – yet as a nobody she had a little more freedom in the choices she made. This new Peach was her opportunity to start afresh and drop the entire pink-and-pretty façade she had been forced to portray night and day since the day she was born.

"I'm… I'm on the run," blurted out Peach.

"Oh, on the run are we? Who from? The angry ex, or a murderer or the child of…" the toad started excitedly.

"No, from the government," Peach said firmly in order to shut him up. There was an awkward moment in which neither of them moved nor said anything. The only noise was an eagle hundreds of metres in the air calling out to its wife who was, presumably, hiding in a nest nearby.

"I'm Trevor Toad, pleasure to meet you," said the toad suddenly, shaking the princess's hand gleefully. It was certainly suspicious how quickly his mood changed, however it appeared that this toad would at least get her to the closest town without being transfigured. "And this here is Tiny Trevor," said Trevor, signalling to the stuffed toy on top of his bag, "Say hello, Trevor!"

"Hubba hubba!" said 'Tiny Trevor' lustily much to Peach's surprise. She didn't realise that toys outside of the castle had the ability to communicate with their owners and perhaps other toys. Just like Trevor, Tiny Trevor had a gravelly voice and a very burly physique. The odd pair were unlike anything Peach had encountered in the past – Peach couldn't help but question why. Were those who entered the castle handpicked to make it look like the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom was idyllic; did they turn away the ugly or strange ones at the door to save the Princess from having to put up with them? Was Toadsworth really… she refused to drag Toadsworth down to this level. It was impossible he would do such a thing to anybody. She trusted him enough to not even question his workings.

"He's cute," said Peach awkwardly, in place of so many rude or offensive things she could have said. She thought about commenting further but she couldn't think of anything more that she could say that was vaguely pleasant.

"Not as cute as me though, no?" asked Trevor sharply, tensing his arm very quickly to show off the bicep.

"Oh of course not," said Peach weakly. This conversation was getting nowhere fast, and Peach didn't to get somewhere quickly. "Where are you heading to?"

"Mushmount Town. It's about two hours along the path from here. You can just about see it," he said, pointing to the town Peach had been trying to reach the previous night. It was lucky that she hadn't kept going or she may well have died out in the wilderness.

"What a coincidence! That's where I'm headed to too!" exclaimed Peach hurriedly, hoping to reach the town before lunch, "mind if I tag along?"

"I'll have to confer with my associate here," said Trevor bluntly. Peach nearly laughed at the way Trevor treated the toy like a person but she noticed that Trevor was actually quite serious about what he had said. He clasped the toy in his grubby and hands and whispered into Tiny Trevor's ear. Tiny Trevor nodded occasionally, then muttered a reply back into Trevor's ear. "Trevor says yes on one condition," said Trevor brightly.

"Which is…?"

"You take his hand in marriage."

Stumbling over the barren wasteland, Peach wondered how she would escape her engagement to Tiny Trevor. Even if she did survive this life and got back to her normal day-to-day service as princess, Peach would never be able to live down a marriage to a… a… she couldn't even think of the right word to describe it anymore. It couldn't be a toy as it was fully alive yet she wasn't quite comfortable recognising it as a proper person. Prejudice appeared to be another quality she had picked up absent-mindedly during her time at the Mushroom Castle.

"You alright back there, lass?" called Trevor from further down the path. Unlike Peach, he made it over the tricky terrain without breaking sweat.

"Yep, I'm fine!" shouted Peach feebly although it was obvious she was lying but it didn't look as though Trevor took any notice of it. They had no further conversation for several hours after that. Peach wasn't up to it – she was grasping for breath rather than chatting away as was her usual nature.

Four hours later and they were almost at the town. Only two hours late. "We're not going to get there anytime soon, are we?" sulked Peach. Her feet were once again feeling week and airy.

"Don' give up now lass! Sure it's a little longer than I thought, but we're nearly there now!" said Trevor encouragingly.

"I can't even see the town anymore when this morning I could!" shouted Peach angrily. She was livid and enjoyed finally getting to show what she was thinking instead of smiling and nodding coupled with a ladylike sigh. Perhaps it was slightly over the top and they were an awful lot closer than when she had started that morning…

"Don' talk like that! Another forty minutes an' you'll be able to rest your head on a proper bed with pillows an' a quilt an'…" the look upon Peach's face was a clear sign he wasn't helping her at all, "… or I could carry yah, I suppose…"


	6. Interlude Two

Interlude

Jumping past another two Koopa Troopers and stomping on yet a fourteenth Kamek's head, Mario sighted what could only be the door to Bowser's throne room. Decorated with purple velvet and bordered with solid gold, only a hall full of angry Goomba's stood in-between him and his goal. They charged at him, their eyes almost glowing red with rage. Mario jumped from one to the next, their heads acting like miniature trampolines to make Marios journey almost effortless. Within a minute Mario has pulling open the glossy door to the next room. He readied himself. Brushed down his overalls. Pulled his gloves up. Deep breath. He went in.

Empty.


End file.
